The present invention relates to a tubular belt conveyor and more particularly to a tubular belt conveyor in which forward and return paths are on the same plane at least partially of the longitudinal direction of the belt to reduce its height.
Usually, such a flattened belt conveyor is rolled up into a tubular shape by overlapping the side ends with each other in the vicinity of a follower roller, goes away towards a driving roller as a forward path to be opened into a flattened shape and is rolled up again to come back to the follower roller as a return path. Powdered or granular material which is thrown from a hopper is wrapped in the endless tubular belt and is conveyed along the forward path, while an empty belt comes back along the return path.
In the conventional tubular belt conveyor as mentioned above, the forward and return paths are overlapped and the tubular portion having a larger diameter requires scaffolds and walking floors for maintenance or inspection, which involves a high cost. The tubular belt conveyor also requires a large height tunnel to pass through.